Opening Day

Want to know how to make your Saturday fly by?  Go to Jazzercise at 9:15, get tee-ball pics at 12:30, and have a game at 3:30.

 

I don't really like to use the weekend for my workouts but it's getting too expensive to to keep taking the kids with me, like I'm spending more than my monthly EFT.  We have something every night this coming up week so I went this morning.  Cameron woke up at 6:45 so it's not like I missed sleeping in for it.

 

Today also happened to be opening day for little league, which meant pictures.  Our pictures were scheduled at 12:50 and I was so afraid they would be delayed and we would somehow end up being there until our 3:30 game time.  Luckily it didn't take long and we were able to come back home before the game.

 

My mom registered Layne the same day I registered Cooper so we requested them to be on the same team.  They are mess together.

 

 

 It took a few practices and now Cooper is starting to catch back on again.  He's a pretty good at batting, he got a hit his first time at bat. Of course in tee-ball everyone bats and everyone gets on base.

 

 For reasons beyond me, his second time at bat he grabbed a pink helmet.

 I can already hear the moms now, "awww... bless is heart". 

 He pretty much made contact all last season with the ball and wouldn't you know it, he wears a pink helmet and ends up needing the tee.

 

I love still having a year or two before things start to get competitive.  Cooper is enjoying himself and I just want him to have fun.  With 22 games I sure hope the fun continues.



A few recipes

Hello, my name is Jami and this is my blog.  When it's Spring Break I blog every day and when we go back to school I decide to quit blogging.

 

Obviously we are back to our everyday boring life so in an attempt to make up stuff to blog about I thought I would share a few recipes with ya'll that I found on Pinterest.

 

I mentioned in a previous post about copy cat Chick-fil-A nuggets.  You can find the recipe here.  I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.  They do have a CFA taste to them.  Cooper doesn't like breading on chicken, but Cameron ate them up.  He may have eaten more than Steve.

 

You might want to hold on to your seats on this one, I made my own taco and chili seasonings.  I have cooked with both and both are good.   I feel like they weren't as heavy, if that makes sense.  They also didn't stink up the kitchen for hours.  You can find taco here and chili here.  If you are missing some of the spices and seasonings, try Aldi.  They have some for 99 cents, compared to $4-5 at Kroger.

 

If taco and chili seasonings weren't enough, I also made homemade granola.  I loved it!  My only suggestion would be adding a bit more peanut butter.  I plan on making a double batch and bagging it up in small baggies for Disney.  I have low blood sugar at times and this is a perfect snack to get rid of the shakes.  You can find it here.

 

I struggle with eating healthy lunches, I always end up with what the boys are having.  I found this a couple weeks ago.  I made it on a Sunday and ate it throughout the week.  I loved it.  I put some over salad mix for my very own Southwestern Salad.  The recipe will easily last all week long. 

 

Finally, last but not least... Nutella Brownies!  I couldn't make it all healthy.  I've made these twice now and I have to vow only make them when it's for a large group.  If you don't like Nutella, don't worry, it's not an overpowering taste.  It also calls for Cocoa and chocolate chips. 

 

Hope you get inspired to try something new.  I love the idea of making my own seasonings.  There is something out there that you are to use to replace cream of "something" soup.  Maybe that will be my next adventure.

 

 

 



Get Pin-spired

I'm linking up again today with Pinterst Told Me To, Mix and Match Mama, and The Larson Lingo for the monthly edition of Get Pin-spired.

 

I've been looking forward to this since I did the last post.  With the exception of Thursday morning Bible Study and Sunday morning church, I spend most of my week in pajamas or work out clothes.  It's been trying to get creative with clothes I already have in my closet. 

 

My first outfit centered around these green pants.  I got them half off, I regret not getting the pink ones as well.  Hoping they go back on sale.  I wanted to find something to wear with them for the Bon Jovi concert.  Although it was mid March it was still quite chilly out as you are well area.  I came across this, and I don't have a black blazer, I do have a jean jacket. 

 

 You've seen these before from my Bon Jovi concert post, but now you know the inspiration as well.  And I can say how cute does Gretchen look in her denim dress, boots, and yellow purse?  What you don't see is her green chunky necklace as well.  She is totally rocking a Pinterest look herself.

 The most important thing to me was being comfortable for the three hour concert and it was perfect.  Except for maybe when we waited outside for 45 minutes for them to open the doors.  I was a little cold then.

 

Thanks to Pinterest and all these blogs, I also caved and bought a denim shirt.  I should have just kept my wardrobe from junior high.  Thanks to Viggle rewards I got a great deal.  I wanted to wear it with my green pants to Easter but felt it needed something dressier.  I had pinned this a few weeks ago.

 I wore my necklace I got from a Premier party with Jaime Mac.  I love the necklace but never really have a reason to wear it.

 Once again I felt comfortable, which is the most important to me.  I too many bags and coats to worry about on top of being uncomfortable too.

Someone should jump in next month, it's been a lot of fun searching Pinterest for new ideas.

Bounce Time & Easter Eggs

Friday morning we were headed to Bounce Time to meet Tracey & Natalie when I got a text from Alicia asking if we wanted to met up there.  YES!!!!  Come join the party.  The funny part is that Cooper had just asked if Jake would be there.  The place was crazy.  I have never seen it that crowded before.  This was the only picture I got.  Cameron just being Cameron.

 

Cooper & Jake have thing that if we do Bounce Time, we must also do Chick-fil-A.  We are bouncing from only play area to the next.  Cooper rode with Alicia to lunch.  That was my chance, I should have just took off right then for home and a nap.

 Crazy, crazy kids!

 

 And with that, Spring Break came to an end.  Pre-school gets out mid-May, I am ready for what will be our longest summer.  Cooper starts school 4 months from Monday.

 

Wasn't today just glorious?  At least it was if you weren't out driving early this morning.  I went to 8:15 Jazzercise, the fog was terrible.  The worst I have ever seen.  Thankfully some of it had lifted by the time class was over.  It was scary out there.

 

Scott had us all over for lunch and an egg hunt.  I almost stole a few eggs for myself, some had money in them. 

 Cameron was a little slow at first, he had to open each one before going to the next.  I love it!

 After the egg hunt we practiced some baseball.  Cooper started t-ball practice last week and his games start soon.  We picked up a t-ball bat and ball last night so we could practice more at home.  Scott's yard is bigger and flatter than ours so it was perfect.

Cooper has 22 games and it's going to take a lot of effort to keep Cameron from running out there and wanting to play with him.  One more year buddy. 

 As we were leaving we found Cooper and Scott laying out in the front yard so of course Cameron had to join in.  My pictures somehow got out of order, keep scrolling to see the rest, I didn't feel like trying to fix it.

 After dinner we colored Easter Eggs.  I never did this a child so it's just as special for me as I hope it is for my kids.  Steve's parents still color eggs by themselves so we each have our own egg on Easter Sunday. 

This is what we call our goose eyes look.

Oh.my.stars!  Wrap it up and never let it go.    

 Here they are!  I'm lazy, I can't help it.

Another goose eyes!

 

 

It's only natural to eat jelly beans and color eggs at the same time.  

 

We had a great family day today.  Just simple and fun.

Who doesn't love a little Fro Yo?

We had another change of plans this week, within minutes of my mother in law calling Wednesday morning, Sharon texted me that Wyatt had been running a fever and she needed to cancel our play date for today.  Breaking the news of my in laws not coming over wasn't going to be so bad, breaking the news we couldn't go to Allie's was another story.  Between living almost an hour away and their pre-school schedules, we just can't get together often.  I had to think and act quick on a back up plan.

 

My friend Melissa, from church and small group, is involved in a play group on Thursday mornings.  She has invited me in the past and added me to their group on Facebook so I get all the notifications.  Thursday is usually Bible Study day so I've never made it, but we are out this week for spring break so it ended up working out great. 

 

We met at Orange Leaf for a tour, demonstration on frozen yogurt making, taste testing, and a $3 cup of yogurt.  It was fun and the boys had a blast!  It started an hour before opening so we had the place to ourselves.

 

 

 I thought Cooper looked a little scary here so he gave me a funny pose.

 He had the all important job of putting the Oreo's into the Cookie's N Cream yogurt.  If that was me I wouldn't be able to guarantee the Oreo's making into the bucket. 

 The deal was a cup of yogurt with two toppings for $3.  The owner ended up charging us only $2.  How awesome is that!!

 Somewhere in the midst of all the chaos my boys broke out their sunglasses again.  This picture totally looks like the kids are holding suckers, which would only be natural seeing as they just ate yogurt and candy, but they are really spoons.

 

Bible Study is over at the end of April so hopefully we can get together with Sharon and the kids after that.  We have plans for Bounce Time tomorrow, I've learned my lesson this week, I haven't even told the kids yet. 

 

This is unrelated, my mom texted me this picture from Key West yesterday.  Is it possible to disown our parents?

Making the best of it

I was pumped for today, I had plans of having a day to myself.  My in-laws were coming over to watch the boys so I could mark off my mile long to-do list and I was going to have lunch with Tracey.  When I heard Steve pick up his phone at 7:00 this morning I knew it wasn't good news.  My mother in law hasn't been feeling well and just wasn't up for it today.  I'm not gonna lie, my first reaction was to stomp and pout.  I wanted a day to myself!  I had no choice to put my big girl britches on and deal with it.  I loaded the boys up and headed out to see what I could get done.

 

First stop:  Floyd Count Health Department!   Steve somehow lost Cameron's birth certificate when picking up his free first birthday smash cake.  Although Southwest Airlines told me I don't need it to get them on a plane, better safe than sorry.

 

 

Thanks to a play area they may ask to come to the Health Department more often. 

 

 Next up was Kohl's.  I had 30% off, $10 Kohls cash, $10 off children's apparel, and a $3 left on a gift card.  I got Cooper some pajamas, socks, and underwear, and myself a pair of tennis shoes all for $47!  It pays to shop.

Shouldn't pink shoes help anyone run a marathon?

 

 Then we headed over to Dick's to find some baseball cleats and pants for Cooper.  He has soccer cleats and at this age it doesn't really matter but Steve kept talking about ankle support, he used to work in a shoe department, so new cleats it was.  Miniature cleats are adorable.

 I had a stop at the mall to make and since they were getting a little restless at this point it was worthwhile to spend some time at the playground.

 I gave Cooper the choice of Texas Roadhouse or pretzels, he chose pretzels.  I went from getting to have lunch at Panera to eating Auntie Annie's pretzels.  I guess there could be worse things.

 I'm not trying to get anyone fired here, but the Easter bunny was totally napping on the job today.

 

 I picked up a few things at Children's Place before heading over to Target.  It was close to nap time  by now and we had one minor Cameron melt down but I managed to get everything on my list done except Easter basket goodies. 

 

Despite the change of plans, the day wasn't all that bad after all.

The app that has changed my life

Okay, so it really hasn't changed my life but it is something I need to share with y'all.  There is a smart phone app out there called Viggle.  Basically it rewards you for watching tv, and the secret is, you don't even have to watch it the whole time, just make sure you check in.

 

So here's how it works.  Download the app and create your account then you can start checking in.  You get 1 point for each minute the show is on.  I like to check into the Today Show each morning, it's on for three hours so it's big points.  A lot of prime time shows also have 50 or 100 extra bonus points.  Last night there was one for 200 extra points.  If you check into all 5 episodes of The Bible on the History Channel you can get 1000 extra points.  Some shows also have what's called Viggle Live.  This is when you will actually have to either watch the show or at least keep your app open.  They give you a question every few minutes for an extra 10 points each question.  Sometimes it's 25 points!  The Bible has been 25 points.  One night Twilight was on for an extra 100 bonus plus Viggle Live for 25 points each questions, I got over 1300 points that night. 

 

If you have Directv you can link your accounts and get bonus points for certain shows.  SportsCenter will give you an extra 200 points. 

 

You may be asking why is it worth doing this?  Like I said you don't have to watch.  I check into the Today Show in the morning and my tv goes off as soon as the kids get up.  If I get a chance I'll check into SportsCenter during the day, then I check into a few things in the evening.  I'm not sitting around watching tv all day long.  What do you do with your points?  I'm glad you asked.  You redeem them for gift cards!!!  Gap and Old Navy are two featured ones usually available.  20,000 points will get you a $10 gift card.  Two weeks ago I had just over 40,000 points and Gap was having 30% off, I redeem my points and got the e-gift card right away.  Made my purchase and saved almost $50 all together. 

 

People, it's worth it!!!